New Super Luigi U

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New Super Luigi U
Composer(s)
Shiho Fujii
Mahito Yokota
SeriesLuigi, Super Mario
Platform(s)Wii U
Nintendo Switch
Release
June 19, 2013
  • DLC
    • JP: June 19, 2013
    • WW: June 20, 2013
    • AU: June 21, 2013
  • Retail
    • JP: July 13, 2013
    • EU: July 26, 2013
    • AU: July 27, 2013
    • NA: August 25, 2013
  • Nintendo Switch
    • WW: January 11, 2019
multiplayer

New Super Luigi U

difficulty level. The expansion adds Nabbit, a non-player character from New Super Mario Bros. U, as an invincible
playable character.

Nintendo's goal was to challenge preconceived notions of

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
, in 2019.

New Super Luigi U was announced in a February 2013

multiplayer and addition of Nabbit received mixed opinions. Debut sales were overshadowed by Pikmin 3, but the expansion sold 3.07 million copies by 2020, making it the eighth-best-selling Wii U game
.

Gameplay

Main article: New Super Mario Bros. U
multiplayer
; a Star Coin can be seen floating at the top of the screen.

Once purchased, New Super Luigi U is selectable from the

checkpoints,[6] but are considerably shorter in length. The player has one hundred seconds to complete each level.[5] Using the Wii U GamePad, the player can use its touchscreen to place down temporary platforms to stand on at their discretion.[1]

Although retaining the same control scheme as Mario, Luigi himself has less friction and slides easier,

multiplayer.[9][4]

Development

See also: Year of Luigi § History
New Super Luigi U emphasizes Luigi for the Year of Luigi anniversary celebration (logo pictured).
New Super Luigi U emphasizes Luigi for the Year of Luigi anniversary celebration (logo pictured).

New Super Luigi U was developed by

Nintendo EAD, the developers of New Super Mario Bros. U. The downloadable content (DLC) was made to emphasize the character Luigi due to the Year of Luigi, a marketing campaign commemorating the 30th anniversary of his introduction in Mario Bros. (1983). The concept for a Luigi-oriented DLC was conceived by producer Takashi Tezuka.[10] Tezuka stated that the game's primary goal was to "change what people think of DLC."[11] To help make the DLC distinct from that of NSMBU, various developers were brought in from the New Super Mario Bros. 2 team to design new gimmicks that didn't overlap with the base game.[10]

Concept

Producer Takashi Tezuka (left) with Shigeru Miyamoto (right) in 2015

According to Tezuka, the developers originally considered ideas for DLC that were much smaller than the final product, and settled on making more playable courses for the Boost Rush game mode, similar to the DLC found in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Ideas for gimmicks found within the new levels were conceptualized fairly quickly; the similarity between the new DLC and New Super Mario Bros. 2 "began to bother" Tezuka.[12] When he requested game director Masataka Takemoto to start over from scratch with a new concept, he accepted the offer because he believed that fans would query why the DLC was not included in the base game. Takemoto's new goal was to create a DLC larger than New Super Mario Bros. 2, and waited for its DLC to release to test how it would be received by its audience.[10] When the DLC for New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released, to their expectations, fans were disappointed that the content was too basic to be held behind a paid barrier.[12]

When development for New Super Mario Bros. U DLC recommenced, they experimented with the concept of levels that "had extremely short courses but increased difficulty." They did this because they considered that players who completed the game would be looking for a more difficult challenge, but making each level the same length as the base game would make the experience "exhausting". Takemoto viewed the length change from a different angle; he noticed how each subsequent release in the Super Mario series had levels that were longer than the last. He aimed to make a game that was similar in playtime to Super Mario Bros. 3 for easier accessibility. To get players to post about New Super Luigi U on the social platform Miiverse, they emphasized adding at least one "landmark" in each level, such as Luigi pixel art, stickers, and Luigi-shaped objects in the background, to encourage the player to post their findings. From there, other players could spend time trying to look for them. Tezuka was originally opposed to a physical release because the game was designed to appeal to players who had already completed New Super Mario Bros. U. He changed his mind after considering an audience that had never played the game and could use the DLC as a starting point.[12]

Characters

"I asked a programmer to make something as a test, and his first reaction was 'Are you really going to do this with Nabbit?!' But when he actually made it, before he even showed it to me, I got a phone call from that programmer, who was overjoyed, saying, 'It feels so refreshing to use Nabbit! Even the way he walks around the course selection screen is great!' When I heard that, I knew I had to keep pushing for Nabbit!"

Directo Masataka Takemoto speaking about Nabbit, 2013

Iwata Asks interview[12]

When Tezuka first suggested Luigi to be the centralized character, Takemoto first replied, "What are you talking about?!" When Tezuka persisted and requested the idea again a few days later, Takemoto took the idea into consideration; he found that making Luigi the main character would further solidify the game as a separate experience. With the change came the additions of a new control set for Luigi, and certain level concepts where standard controls made completion difficult became easier.[12]

After Tezuka convinced Takemoto to omit Mario from the game entirely, other options for a replacement were considered. The original idea was to include a third Toad but was later decided against because it made

multiplayer too disorienting.[13] Princess Peach was never considered because she "is off somewhere far away in need of saving." After considering enemy options Takemoto settled on Nabbit, a character who first appeared in New Super Mario Bros. U as a non-player character. He asked a specific programmer to create a prototype; he was originally skeptical about the idea but was shocked to find it worked well, calling Takemoto about his discoveries before he even viewed it in person.[12] They also considered and incorporated the ability for him to dodge enemies altogether as he does in New Super Mario Bros. U, which ended up being included in the final version; they found the idea to be a good feature for beginners or less experienced players.[10] This fell in line with one of Shigeru Miyamoto's philosophies for game design: "An idea is a single solution that solves multiple issues at once."[12]

Marketing and release

A Brown Line train was redesigned with New Super Luigi U artwork in August to promote the game.

The game was announced in a February 2013

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe in 2019.[17]

On July 27, Takemoto made an post on Miiverse that Nintendo would be holding a challenge for its players; the goal was to complete the main story mode while collecting the least amount of coins possible.

Chicago, Illinois.[21] The same month also saw the release of the mockumentary Finding Luigi – Legend of Parkour, which released for Nintendo's official YouTube channel. The video depicts Luigi as a "legend of parkour" who has mysteriously vanished from the industry, and the film crew attempts to meet with an on-the-run Nabbit to learn of his current whereabouts.[22][23]

Reception

New Super Luigi U received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator website Metacritic, receiving a 77/100 based on 59 critical reviews.[24]

Most critics praised the game's difficulty,

Nintendo Life's Thomas Whitehead appreciated the spike in difficulty and lauded the use of limited time and more intense platforming to do so. They originally found the jumps flutter to be unnecessary but the change ultimately became "second nature".[4] Polygon reviewer Phillip Kollar considered the game "the most difficult Mario content that Nintendo has created in decades." Some praised it as a new challenge for players after completing NSMBU, but only with Super Mario series veterans in mind; IGN's Vince Ingenito called the game a "CliffsNotes version of a great fast-paced 2D platformer", and found the game overall to be a unique twist on the standard Super Mario formula.[3] In opposition, Kollar noted a lack of attention to new players, and although the game was balanced towards the player, it was too "relentless" to encourage more attempts. Writing for Eurogamer, Chris Schilling increasingly found frustration in the time spent between dying and opening a level, and negatively compared the experience to Super Meat Boy, which resets the player immediately after failure.[2] 4Players highlighted a handful of posts made to Miiverse, where users verbalized their frustrations with the game's difficulty.[6] Despite the changes, GameSpot felt the experience was too similar to NSMBU.[25]

The level design was lauded,

USGamer's Jeremy Parish considered the game to be frustrating, not because of the intentional difficulty, but other various changes to Luigi's control did not add up well to the precise and quick-paced level design. They considered the concept to go against the standard Super Mario formula of being able to explore each level as they please. They found the game overall to be too demanding and preferred the DLC found in New Super Mario Bros. 2.[5]

Luigi's control scheme was mostly criticized for its impreciseness.[6][2][3][5] Schilling criticized Luigi's controls, not due to their function, but because they did not pair well with the level design, which focused on precision and therefore did not emphasize Luigi's slippery movement. He appreciated the ability to revert controls post-completion but called the overall concept "a green peg in a red hole."[2] Game Informer reviewer Dan Ryckert struggled to get used to the dynamic shift in gameplay from the base game, but overall enjoyed the experience.[9] 4Players noted difficulty in navigating Luigi through tight platforming sessions, but the higher jump helped to avoid failure.[6] Ingenito derided the level design for its failure to justify Luigi's movement, and although it did increase difficulty it was not in a fair sense. They appreciated the higher jumps, however, and often exploited them to a maximum.[3] In contrast, Kollar felt the levels matched Luigi's moveset well and merely took time to get used to.[1]

Critics were also opposed to the multiplayer,[26][4] with mixed opinions directed towards Nabbit.[9][26] Ryckert considered Nabbit a helpful addition geared towards new players who would not be comfortable with the increased difficulty.[9] Gilbert criticized the multiplayer; they felt the game focused primarily on single-player and most levels were unmanageable with four players participating simultaneously. They also believed Nabbit caused "unexpected problems" by being unbalanced in comparison to the other characters.[26] Whitehead appreciated the use of Nabbit as a more approachable selection but was overall "misguided", and due to the addition of unmanageable multiplayer, suggested using NSMBU's multiplayer instead.[4]

Sales

New Super Luigi U debuted the same week as Pikmin 3, another highly anticipated title by Nintendo that was also released exclusively for the Wii U, overshadowing New Super Luigi U in comparison. Japanese sales for the retail copy totaled 24,881, about 1,000 copies behind Tomodachi Collection: New Life and a roughly third the number of Pikmin 3.[28][29] By the end of August, North American sales reached 120,000.[30] By May 2014, New Super Luigi U reached 1.76 million sales, although 2014 was a financial failure for Nintendo and the Wii due to the poor sales of the Wii U console; Nintendo had a net loss of $457 million.[31][32] As of 2020 the game has sold 3.07 million copies and is the eighth-best-selling game on the Wii U.[33]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: New スーパールイージ U, Hepburn: Nyū Sūpā Ruīji Yū

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kollar, Phillip (June 25, 2013). "New Super Luigi U review: inferiority complex". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Schilling, Chris (June 24, 2013). "New Super Luigi U review: Oh, brother". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ingenito, Vince (June 27, 2013). "New Super Luigi U Review: Riding Mario's Coattails". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  4. ^
    Nintendo Life. Archived
    from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  5. ^
    USGamer. Archived
    from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Wobbeking, Jan (June 26, 2013). "Test: New Super Luigi U (Plattformer)" [Review: New Super Luigi U (Platformer)]. 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Ray Correa, Alexa (May 17, 2013). "New Super Luigi U coming to eShop June 20, standalone at retail Aug. 25". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  8. GamesRadar. Archived
    from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e Ryckert, Dan (August 25, 2013). "New Super Luigi U Review: Luigi Succeeds In The Spotlight". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  10. ^
    Nintendo Life. Archived
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  11. ^ Lien, Tracey (June 14, 2013). "New Super Luigi U remodels 82 courses to be shorter but harder". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Iwata, Satoru. "Iwata Asks: New Super Luigi U". Nintendo. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  13. ^ Ray Corriea, Alexa (July 12, 2013). "New Super Luigi U added Nabbit in multiplayer to avoid using Mario". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  14. ^ Makuch, Eddie (February 14, 2013). "Luigi-themed DLC coming to New Super Mario Bros. U". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  15. Nintendo Life. January 19, 2021. Archived
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  16. GamesRadar. Archived
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  17. ^ Greenwald, Will (February 6, 2019). "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) Review". PCMag. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  18. Nintendo Life. Archived
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  19. ^
    Nintendo Life. Archived
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  20. ^ Sakar, Samit (August 7, 2013). "Nintendo decking out Chicago's L train with Luigi Aug. 12". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Futter, Mike (August 12, 2013). "Luigi Paints Chicago Green". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  22. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (August 25, 2013). "Nintendo reveals Luigi's Parkour past in mockumentary". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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  25. ^ a b Brown, Peter (June 26, 2013). "New Super Luigi U Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
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  27. ^ a b Grubb, Jeff (June 28, 2013). "New Super Luigi U is a terrible idea spread across an entire game (opinion)". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  28. Siliconera. July 14, 2013. Archived
    from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  29. ^ Nunneley, Stephanie (July 17, 2013). "Pikmin 3 bests other high profile debuts in Japan". VG247. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
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  31. ^ Phillips, Tom (May 7, 2014). "Nintendo slumps to another annual loss after dismal Wii U sales". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  32. ^ Byford, Sam (May 7, 2014). "Nintendo reports third consecutive annual loss as Wii U sales fizzle out". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  33. ^ "Top Selling Title Sales Units". Nintendo. September 30, 2021. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2022.

External links

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